Khobragade row: India not so ready to forgive and forget

New York: The political deal allowing Devyani Khobragade to return to India was calculated to give all sides immediate, if temporary closure. But there is no sign, in the short term at least, that India is ready to forgive and forget. The trust built through the US-India nuclear deal has been squandered recklessly through Manhattan Attorney Preet Bharara’s over reach of justice, and it will take sustained US efforts to mend the rift. An emotionally spent Khobragade landed in Delhi late on Friday from New York after a battle of nerves over two days that resulted in her effective expulsion from the US hours after she was granted immunity from Bharara’s criminal charges against her. [caption id=“attachment_1334769” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Devyani Khobragade. PTI[/caption] India demanded an American diplomat of Khobragade’s rank be withdrawn – tantamount to an expulsion – following a “strict principle of reciprocity.” “We called the US mission to withdraw an officer of similar rank of Devyani as reciprocal action,” an Indian official said. The government believes the US diplomat had a role in the processing of the Khobragade case. While the US State Department had set no deadline for Khobragade’s departure, India has given the US diplomat roughly 48 hours to leave India. “The move to expel a US diplomat, even if reciprocal, is unprecedented. The only other similar incident took place in 1981 when India decided to block the appointment of a US political counselor, George G.B Griffin, accusing him of being a CIA agent. The Reagan administration had responded by barring an Indian diplomat at the same level from joining in Washington,” reported The Times of India. The State Department confirmed a US official would leave Delhi, saying it deeply regretted the move. “This has clearly been a challenging time in the US-India relationship,” State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in Washington. “We expect and hope that this will now come to closure and the Indians will take significant steps with us to improve our relationship and return it to a more constructive place.” Sure, Khobragade’s departure removes the focus of friction between New Delhi and Washington, but the young diplomat will still have a high personal price to pay as the indictment will prevent her from coming back to the US. Anyone else would be happy to see the last of the US after such an ordeal but things are complicated for Khobragade who has left behind two young daughters studying in the US and a husband, Aakash Singh Rathore who is a US citizen and professor at the University of Pennsylvania. Bharara’s office tried to exploit the diplomat’s desire to return to the US in the future. But to Khobragade’s credit, her departure was consistent with her own position that she was not going to indulge in any bargaining with the prosecution which would even remotely amount to acceptance of guilt. US authorities offered to let Khobragade off on payment of fine saying she would not have to go to jail and she could also return to the US in private capacity. The MEA is said to have rejected this deal. The Times of India speculated that “eventual resolution could involve periodic postings for Khobragade to the United Nations to enable her be with her family.” “It would still require State Department assent, which may be easier with the passage of time, the moderation of positions, and the retirement of some people,” said the newspapaer. Now that Khobragade has returned to India stalled US official visits to New Delhi may be rescheduled. But this episode has caused significant damage, frustrating the Pentagon, State Department and the US business lobby. Last month, the Pentagon expressed its dismay over the way Bharara and Co. needlessly humiliated Khobragade during her arrest in New York. The Pentagon views India as a strategic partner in Asia to counterbalance China and has been despairing that a petty nanny wage dispute championed by Bharara’s office has vitiated the important relationship with India. As the dust settles, the US Navy is looking forward to India participating in the 2014 Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) naval exercise to be held off Hawaii later this year. India now conducts more military exercises with the US than any other country and is working with US forces to bolster maritime security and combat piracy. “The US-India relationship is strategic to both countries, and is simply too important to allow it to be degraded or side-tracked,” said Ron Somers, president of the US-India Business Council, who called the Khobragade incident “deeply regrettable.” In time, even Bharara may get off his high horse and see the episode as “deeply regrettable” as Khobragade has flown off into the sunset; and he has not endeared himself to the Obama administration by near-derailing ties with India.